The Bridge at Twilight
by Spirit of the Moon
Summary: In the wake of the mirror's destruction, Link and the Princesses return to their lives in their respective homes...but there is just one last thing left for the the land's hero to do.


The Bridge at Twilight

At twilight….two worlds intersect.

The light was pale golden; the world was bathed in its soft glow. The plains were rocked softly with a gentle wind. Slowly the light was going dark, a cloud moving over the setting sun. In a sudden instant, everything was black.

It was a dark world, with gray stone for everything with soft glowing runes of blue light crawling around it all. A pair of orbs sat on a pavilion, glowing softly, confidently. Thick black clouds rolled out the large, towering building. It hit the residents of the plains and howls echoed. Blasts came from above and laughter came to echo. The spheres disappeared. Everything seemed to stop. An imp came flying past, a helm of stone on its head. To a portal it fled and with glowing light the imp, and the world, ceased.

The forest was bathed in eerie light; a wolf was being dragged by the back paw from the little clearing. A huge black, mindless beast pulled its captive along, unaware of being watched. Again the imp was seen, a grin coming to the small face half hidden by the stone helm. It followed the dark beast and the unconscious wolf. There was the chance of the people of the darker plain.

A hero in green, unsure of the imp had but no choice to follow its word. Was the imp not the reason he was no longer behind bars….no longer furry?

The light spirit rose as the usurper point a hand to the imp imprisoned by unseen forces. A fanged mouth opened into a scream, a wolf watched on helpless, the usurper laughed as light hit a being not meant for the element. And then the wolf was carrying the imp, all the colors of its body inverted, through town and sewers, up, up to the top of the castle into a little chamber where a woman stood cloaked. The imp tried to dissuade the woman but with little rune covered hands grasped with in gloved ones, the woman disappeared, the imp restored.

The mirror stand was empty, ethereal sages moaned in sadness, calling out clues to where the shards now rested. Harsh snows pounded imp and wolf a like as a mountain was climbed. A shard found in a yeti's embrace. In the great distant past, a shard was found in a glorious temple. High in the sky, a great sky lizard shrieked and called, a final shard hidden by in the land of those closest to the goddesses.

A mirror returned to its shape and holder, a princess turned imp going through to her home, hero in tow. A mirror to bring them back, a mirror to send her home. A mirror broken to fragment and shards, no possible repair by a single tear infused with power beyond thinking.

A mirror to connect the words beyond the hour of twilight.

Three radiant beings stood in sight. None held a happy face. The mirror flashed again and again.

"_Princess she may be, but a goddesses' decree has she broken. Reconnect the worlds beyond the hour of twilight."_

Twilight flooded the castle of Hyrule, and armed guards rushed for their princess. The regal woman had collapsed mid-sentence. With head pounding the princess could again see the sky at the hour of twilight. She could feel the glass and stone in her hand.

--

"L-Link!" Illia shouted, not looking where she was going but looking back at the visitors to little Ordon Village. She was out of breath, running from the Ordona Spring, where everything had began she remembered with a shutter, towards her childhood friend's home. She forced herself to stop with control, instead of sliding wildly, in front of the large home. She shouted for the blonde again, but no head was stuck out the highest window. Looking over, Illia didn't spot Epona eating grass nearby. Link had allowed the horse many easy days since he had come back. _He must be up at the Ranch…_

The wheat haired girl turned towards the visitors nervously. The clump of horse hooves had never made her nervous before today.

"H-he must be up at the Ranch. Link helps out there a lot. Follow me," she said with a smile and a little tremor. She turned towards the entrance of the village. _Link…what are you getting yourself into now? _

All the villagers watched, the kids openly, their parents a little less so. Her father stood on their porch, confused but taking on the friendly persona needed of their mayor. Illia waved at him, slowly leading the short train of horses and people. The clank of armor and horse hooves scared chickens away and the striped cat into Sera's Sundries.

"They're here for Link," she whispered to her father as she waited for the large horses to cross the little bridge before her home. She smiled reassuringly to her father and started up the hill, beckoning her followers.

Mayor Bo watched the Princess of Hyrule and two armed companions follow his daughter up the hill towards Ordon Ranch.

--

He was intimately aware of the sounds of clanking armor; he knew all the little nuances. But he breathed a sigh of relief, and let his tense left arm muscles relax. This was not the sound of a Dark Nut's armor and certainly not two of them either. Epona made a soft noise beside him, and two similar noises floated to answer her. The hero stood up from tending to the young goat in the stall and look out of the barn. Link could see Fado, farther out in the grazing area, looking worried and shooing goats away from the gate to Ordon Ranch.

"Link!" A warm smile came to the once ranch hand's face. _Illia…_ With no thought to the sounds of armor, sounds so out of place that they made him tense even if they were not threatening; the blonde left the barn to answer his friend's call. His smile left, taking in the sight of the Princess a top her mount. He wondered vaguely for a moment how she had gotten out of the castle with only two guards before giving Princess Zelda a warm smile as well.

A small smile came to Zelda's face as well. She slipped off her horse, and didn't wait for her guards before she approached one of her saviors.

"Link…" Zelda cast her blue eyes to Illia and then back to Link, "I need a private word with you…" Illia started behind them.

"M'lady! He doesn't speak…" Zelda giggled softly and looked back to the worried girl.

"Yes, I know. Do relax, it is only a small matter, but I believe it is still for his ears only," Zelda said gently. Link raised a hand to reassure the other woman, a look to his eyes that Illia knew well helping to do so.

Zelda stayed her guards,

"They are only goats!" and followed the hero into the barn. Standing near the last stall, Link gave her a questioning look. A goat moved his head out of his pen and watched the regal woman. Zelda smiled, and reached for a pouch around her waist.

"I hope you still have your green clothing and sword…." she unraveled the cloth wrap she had pulled out, and before them both was a small, etched mirror. Elation came to Link's face, and he cupped the mirror in Zelda's hands. He looked between the mirror and Zelda's face, unable to express his thoughts at the moment. Zelda laughed again.

"I think it is too…..I…I _know_ it is. What do you say Link? Shall we ditch my guards and make for the desert?"

Moments later she was being pulled through long grass holding back laughter as the hero, in the moment an exuberant child, led her home for his clothing and sword.

--

They stood on the old rough stone of the Arbiter's Grounds, Zelda's heart still pumping hard from the wild ride up. There was the pillar, that old rock that had once had the pleasure of pining Ganondorf, of bringing a hero to another world, and sending a princess back. The old mirror stand was where it had been since the old days, since the mirror had turned to dust. Sand blew gently about them and Zelda walked up the stone steps with the small mirror. Link hesitated, adjusting the green cap on his blonde head.

"I believe it will work….I don't think the Goddesses were very happy to have their plans destroyed. I'm sure they made this mirror for a reason…" Zelda looked up to the pillar. _Why else would they make it again?_

Link looked at the pillar as well, his heart beating fast and nerves climbing up his body. He was full of nerves...with everything he had been through; here he was nervous that a little mirror...was exactly that, a little mirror.Link looked down to his hands, hands that had once been paws and had once vanquished evil and once held an imp in slow moments.

Light caught his eye, and in the empty stand was now a large mirror. Zelda looked back with a relieved smile. The mirror glinted, etched with signs and the Triforce. Link climbed the stairs two at a time, and touched the edge of the mirror in awe.

"Hero, would you like to inform the Princess of the Twilight Realm of the new situation? I would be honored if you take this task." Link took on a serious look, and bowed low to the Hyrulian Princess. Within a moment, Zelda watched the elated Link be swept away to another realm. She would await his return, and welcome with a smile.

--

Her red eyes had gone wide with shock when the small Twili before her had announced a visitor. It couldn't be…

_A glowing sword….and a stranger dressed in green?_ The Twilight Princess stood from her throne as the stranger entered the room where he had once encountered the Usurper King. She walked forward to meet him again in the middle of the throne room. A piece of parchment was pressed into her hands.

_The Goddesses were not happy you meddled in their grand plan, you little imp._

_Zelda_

Midna smiled as Link grinned, the light of the twilight realm filtering into the room.


End file.
